Watch Over Me
by Aestiva
Summary: Lovino Vargas is a six year old with a bad home. Alfred F Jones is the local genius. So how exactly do they become brothers? Thanks to Alfred's hero complex of course! Romerica exchange fic for tomato-icecream of Tumblr, one-shot, Romerica, human AU, finished. Rated M for child abuse/neglect.


**I AM SO SORRY THAT THIS IS LATE/AWFUL! Anyway, this is part of a Romerica fic exchange and was written for tomato-icecream over on Tumblr. The prompt was:**

**"Human AU: Kid!Romano and Teen!America Can be written as friendship, or gradual romance. Romano was walking home from church. He crosses the street, and doesn't see a car speeding down the street. He almost gets hit by a car, but America runs in to save him, and gets hit to save him. Not fatally hurt, but America is hospitalized. Romano goes to visit him until he recovers."**

**I have three different completed ones of this and a few drabbles for it but they're all so OOC and jumpled and really, really awful. Again, I am so sorry that this is so bad. And for being late. And short. Drop a review please.**

The day after Alfred was cleared to return home from the hospital, having been in for a few days thanks to a short coma brought on by being hit by a car, Lovino showed up on his front step wearing an oversized jacket and jeans raggedly ripped of just below the knee. In a snowstorm.

Some people said Alfred was dense sometimes, but looking at the little kid shaking from the cold, it was clear to anyone who cared that nobody was taking care of the boy.

"I-I just wanted to s-say I'm s-sorry for being so stupid. I-it's my fault you got hit by that car and fell asleep, if I h-had been watching w-when I was walking home from c-church, you wouldn't have been h-hurt." As he spoke, the poor kid pulled a beat-up, homemade card from the inside of his jacket and offered it to Alfred somewhat tentatively.

"That's awful sweet of you," Alfred said as he took the card. "I'm Alfred Jones, though I guess you already knew that since I heard you visited at the hospital. What's your name?"

"Lovino Vargas," he said. "An' I saw you on the news. They was saying you're a hero."

Alfred just chuckled and ruffled Lovino's hair. "They may have been saying that but I think you're the hero here."

"R-really?"

"Really. Now come in if you wanna little hot chocolate."

A week after that, Lovino appeared on the front keep.

"Alfred, I need help with my homework or they said I'm gonna be in trouble an' you said you liked math but my mommy said she ain't care about math much."

"I'd love to help you, kiddo." Alfred said as he ushered him inside and gave him a mug of hot chocolate. This child appeared rather underfed and was shaking from the frigid February air, having only jeans with no knees and a sleeveless shirt.

After two more mugs of hot chocolate, heavy on the marshmallows and whipped cream, Lovino had finally stopped looking as though he was about to pass out and Alfred had managed to get him in an old hoodie of his that practically engulfed the child. He helped him with his math homework and the two spend a few hours working on addition and subtraction, until Lovino could understand it okay.

"Lovi, you said your mother didn't care for any math. What about your father?"

"Well my daddy got shot when he was teaching me to play basketball an' he died so he can't teach me nothing. My mommy said that math is for people who got money to spare, she said she's too busy taking her medicine to learn much."

He was a very bright kid; he just didn't get a chance to shine. Before the boy left however, he adamantly refused to take the hoodie or any food with him.

"What kind of medicine does your mother take?"

"I don't know the name but it's a buncha white powder."

As time progressed, Lovino's visits gradually sped up, until he was coming twice daily and Alfred was packing a meal for him to take to school, seeing as though he'd drop by in the morning to say hello then again on his way home. Alfred had convinced him there was no harm in bringing food to school that Alfred had given him and had worked his way up to the poor child being dressed appropriately for the weather, seeing as though it was mid-April by the time he figured out why the boy was reluctant to take things from Alfred's house and, as a result, the way to cross that bridge.

Lovino Vargas was scared of being beaten.

Alfred had had a flash of understanding when Lovino's shirt was pulled off with his jacket, revealing an ugly cut on his side with a small bandage stuck over it, looking filthy and inadequate.

"Lovino, this is serious, okay? Would you feel safe if I asked my papa to come over and help you? He's a doctor at the hospital and he could clean up any injuries you got. You have to trust him though," Lovino nodded hesitantly. While they were waiting, Alfred told Lovino about his papa. "He's from France and taught my twin brother and me how to speak it fluently. He's a great guy and his favorite flowers are roses. He's a hopeless romantic. He loves rain but won't admit it." Finally, Francis showed up.

"Hey there Lovino. I'm Francis, okay?" Lovino let Francis clean up his torso, seeing as though they had some bruises. In the background, Alfred couldn't help but think Lovino wasn't telling them everything.

The first time Lovino let down his guard enough to stay overnight at Alfred's house, he tried to crawl in the window. When Alfred went to investigate the loud thump, he found a completely grimy Lovino lying inside under the window.

"Come on then," he said. "I'll get a bath ready so you can clean up while I make you some hot chocolate." By this time, the hot chocolate was a ritual between them, a promise that Alfred wouldn't pester him, would trust him. After Lovino had some hot chocolate, Alfred tucked him into his bed and read him a book. When he went to go set up a bad on the couch, Lovino stopped him.

"Stay with me, please."

After over a year since Alfred had saved him from traffic and fallen into a coma for a few days, Lovino's shell broke and he started showing real personality. It was the day he turned eight, Alfred had made him a big cake shaped like a tomato and everything.

When Alfred opened the door at the sound of the doorbell, he found Lovino standing there, his face oddly empty of all expression. "Lovino?" Alfred asked.

It was as though a wall had been broken. Lovino hurled his small body forwards, wrapping his arms around Alfred's neck and sobbing.

"There, there." Alfred soothed, closing the door. The neighborhood had no right to know about Lovino's traumatizing life if Lovino himself didn't want them to know.

It took half an hour to get Lovino to stop crying, at which point Alfred had gone through four cups of hot chocolate, three stories, and two packages of tissues calming down Lovino. After that, he learned that Lovino had hung around after the guilt for getting him hurt had faded partly because he wanted Alfred to be a big brother to keep him safe and partly because he couldn't believe _Alfred Jones_ was paying attention to him. After all, the boy had said, Alfred was legally an adult at the age of 16, thanks to his high IQ and having already gone through college at that age. His parents had been fine with it and Alfred was the founder of a successful software company. He was handsome and smart and so full of life that little Lovino, who thought he had no good qualities about him, couldn't believe he would want to be around someone like himself.

At the same time, he had thought Alfred was going to hurt him. Everyone else had, why wouldn't Alfred? Especially since Alfred could make him leave then never see him again, could just go on living as a genius child with a great life.

"Will you be my big brother?"

"Always."

**Finished. Drow a review on the way out?**


End file.
